Last Friday, the San Antonio Spurs rallied from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Utah Jazz, a victory that made head coach Gregg Popovich the winningest coach in NBA history.
In a sense, it was fitting that it came against the Jazz, as Utah head coach Quin Snyder was part of the Spurs organization from 2007-10 as head coach of the G League’s (then called the D-League) Austin Toros.
On Sunday, veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein, who has especially deep connections in Texas, wrote that there’s a chance Snyder could replace Popovich in San Antonio as soon as after this season.
Stein wrote that he feels Popovich will coach for one more season, “yet I reserve the right to change that answer if Utah’s Quin Snyder becomes unexpectedly available.”
Stein continued that “more and more,” he hears Snyder is “a potential Pop successor that the Spurs would naturally relish.”
Stein observed how Snyder, now in his eighth season in Utah, has helped lead the Jazz to becoming a very good team, but they haven’t made it past the second round of the playoffs.
In October 2019, the Jazz announced they and Snyder had agreed to a contract extension.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported at the time that the extension was for “multiple years” beyond the two that remained on Snyder’s existing deal at the time.
Snyder, 55, has a record of 365-256 with the Jazz.